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shafique · Mar 27, 2008

http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/muhammad_bible.htm

Apologies, a cut a paste job - but loads of references for us to discuss - and offers an interpretation of the Bible. For me the most convincing prophecies are those of the paraclete/comforter - describing a prophet to come with a message that will be dictated by God, but which is interpreted as the 'Holy Ghost' by Christians. I post the arguments in full so that people can see the arguments and we can discuss individual Biblical verses.

BIBLE PROPHECIES ABOUT THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD

Abraham is widely regarded as the Patriarch of monotheism and the common father of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through His second son, Isaac, came all Israelite prophets including such towering figures as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus. May peace and blessings be upon them all. The advent of these great prophets was in partial fulfillment of God's promises to bless the nations of earth through the descendents of Abraham (Genesis12:2-3).Such fulfillment is wholeheartedly accepted by Muslims whose faith considers the belief in and respect of all prophets an article of faith.

BLESSINGS OF ISHMAEL AND ISAAC

Was the first born son of Abraham (Ishmael) and his descendants included in God's covenant and promise? A few verses from the Bible may help shed some light on this question;

1) Genesis 12:2-3 speaks of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants before any child was born to him.

2) Genesis 17:4 reiterates God's promise after the birth of Ishmael and before the birth of Isaac.

3) In Genesis, ch. 21. Isaac is specifically blessed but Ishmael was also specifically blessed and promised by God to become "a great nation" especially in Genesis 21:13, 18.

4) According to Deuteronomy 21:15-17 the traditional rights and privileges of the first born son are not to be affected by the social status of his mother (being a "free" woman such as Sarah, Isaac's mother, or a "Bondwoman" such as Hagar, Ishmael's mother). This is only consistent with the moral and humanitarian principles of all revealed faiths.

5) The full legitimacy of Ishmael as Abraham's son and "seed" and the full legitimacy of his mother, Hagar, as Abraham's wife are clearly stated in Genesis 21:13 and 16:3. After Jesus, the last Israelite messenger and prophet, it was time that God's promise to bless Ishmael and his descendants be fulfilled. Less than 600years after Jesus, came the last messenger of God, Muhammad, from the progeny of Abraham through Ishmael. God's blessing of both of the main branches of Abraham's family tree was now fullfilled. But are there additional corroborating evidence that the Bible did in fact foretell the advent of prophet Muhammad?

MUHAMMAD:
The Prophet Like Unto Moses

Long time after Abraham, God's promise to send the long-awaited Messenger was repeated this time in Moses' words.
In Deuteronomy 18:18, Moses spoke of the prophet to be sent by God who is:

1) From among the Israelite's "brethren", a reference to their Ishmaelite cousins as Ishmael was the other son of Abraham who was explicitly promised to become a "great nation".

2) A prophet like unto Moses. There were hardly any two prophets ,who were so much alike as Moses and Muhammad. Both were given comprehensive law code of life, both encountered their enemies and were victors in miraculous ways, both were accepted as prophets/statesmen and both migrated following conspiracies to assassinate them. Analogies between Moses and Jesus overlooks not only the above similarities but other crucial ones as well (e.g. the natural birth, family life and death of Moses and Muhammad but not of Jesus, who was regarded by His followers as the Son of God and not exclusively a messenger of God, as Moses and Muhammad were and as Muslim belief Jesus was).

THE AWAITED PROPHET WAS TO COME FROM ARABIA

Deuteronomy 33:1-2 combines references to Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. It speaks of God (i.e. God's revelation) coming from Sinai, rising from Seir (probably the village of Sa'ir near Jerusalem) and shining forth from Paran. According to Genesis 21:21, the wilderness of Paran was the place where Ishmael settled (i.e. Arabia, specifically Mecca).

Indeed the King James version of the Bible mentions the pilgrims passing through the valley of Ba'ca (another name of Mecca) in Psalms 84:4-6.

Isaiah 42:1-13 speaks of the beloved of God. His elect and messenger who will bring down a law to be awaited in the isles and who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgement on earth." Verse 11, connects that awaited one with the descendants of Ke'dar. Who is Ke'dar? According to Genesis 25:13, Ke'dar was the second son of Ishmael, the ancestor of prophet Muhammad.

MUHAMMAD'S MIGRATION FROM MECCA TO MEDINA:
PROPHECIED IN THE BIBLE?

Habakkuk 3:3 speaks of God (God's help) coming from Te'man (an Oasis North of Medina according to J. Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible), and the holy one (coming) from Paran. That holy one who under persecution migrated from Paran (Mecca) to be received enthusiastically in Medina was none but prophet Muhammad.
Indeed the incident of the migration of the prophet and his persecuted followers is vividly described in Isaiah 21:13-17. That section foretold as well about the battle of Badr in which the few ill-armed faithful miraculously defeated the "mighty" men of Ke'dar, who sought to destroy Islam and intimidate their own folks who turned -to Islam.

THE QUR'AN (KORAN) FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE?

For twenty-three years, God's words (the Qur'an) were truely put into Muhammad's mouth. He was not the "author" of the Qur'an. The Qur'an was dictated to him by Angel Gabriel who asked Muhammad to simply repeat the words of the Qur'an as he heard them. These words were then committed to memory and to writing by those who hear them during Muhammad's life time and under his supervision.

Was it a coincidence that the prophet "like unto Moses" from the "brethren" of the Israelites (i.e. from the lshmaelites) was also described as one in whose mouth God will put his words and that he will speak in the name of God, (Deuteronomy 18:18-20). Was it also a coincidence the "Paraclete" that Jesus foretold to come after Him was described as one who "shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak (John 16:13)

Was it another coincidence that Isaiah ties between the messenger connected with Ke'dar and a new song (a scripture in a new language) to be sang unto the Lord (Isaiah 42:10-11). More explicitly, prophesies Isaiah "For with stammering lips, and another tongue, will he speak to this people" (Isaiah 28:11). This latter verse correctly describes the "stammering lips" of Prophet Muhammad reflecting the state of tension and concentration he went through at the time of revelation. Another related point is that the Qur'an was revealed in piece-meals over a span of twenty three years. It is interesting to compare this with Isaiah 28:10 whichspeaks of the same thing.

THAT PROPHET- PARACLETE- MUHAMMAD

Up to the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Israelites were still awaiting for that prophet like unto Moses prophecied in Deuteronomy 18:18. When John the Baptist came, they asked him if he was Christ and he said "no". They asked him if he was Elias and he said "no". Then, in apparent reference to Deuteronomy 18:18, they asked him "Art thou that Prophet" and he answered, "no". (John 1: 1 9-2 1).

In the Gospel according to John (Chapters 14, 15, 16) Jesus spoke of the "Paraclete" or comforter who will come after him, who will be sent by Father as another Paraclete, who will teach new things which the contemporaries of Jesus could not bear. While the Paraclete is described as the spirit of truth, (whose meaning resemble Muhammad's famous title Al-Amin, the trustworthy), he is identified in one verse as the Holy Ghost (John 14:26). Such a designation is however inconsistent with the profile of that Paraclete. In the words of the Dictionary of the Bible, (Ed. J. Mackenzie) "These items, it must be admitted do not give an entirely coherent picture."

Indeed history tells us that many early Christians understood the Paraclete to be a man and not a spirit. This might explain the followings who responded to some who claimed, without meeting the criteria stipulated by Jesus, to be the awaited "Paraciete".

It was Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was the Paraclete, Comforter, helper, admonisher sent by God after Jesus. He testified of Jesus, taught new things which could not be borne at Jesus' time, he spoke what he heard (revelation), he dwells with the believers (through his well-preserved teachings). Such teachings will remain forever because he was the last messenger of God, the only Universal Messenger to unite the whole of humanity under God and on the path of PRESERVED truth. He told of many things to come which "came to pass" in the minutest detail meeting, the criterion given by Moses to distinguish between the true prophet and the false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:22). He did reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement (John 16:8-11)

WAS THE SHIFT OF RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP PROPHECIED?

Following the rejection of the last Israelite prophet, Jesus, it was about time that God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation be fulfilled (Genesis 21:13, 18)

In Matthew 21:19-21, Jesus spoke of the fruitless fig tree (A Biblical symbol of prophetic heritage) to be cleared after being given a last chance of three years (the duration of Jesus' ministry) to give fruit. In a later verse in the same chapter, Jesus said: "Therefore, say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof" (Matthew 21:43). That nation of Ishmael's descendants (the rejected stone in Matthew 21:42) which was victorious against all super-powers of its time as prophecied by Jesus: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44).

OUT OF CONTEXT COINCIDENCE?

Is it possible that the numerous prophecies cited here are all individually and combined out of context misinterpretations? Is the opposite true, that such infrequently studied verses fit together consistently and clearly point to the advent of the man who changed the course of human history, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Is it reasonable to conclude that all these prophecies, appearing in different books of the Bible and spoken by various prophets at different times were all coincidence? If this is so here is another strange "coincidence"!

One of the signs of the prophet to come from Paran (Mecca) is that he will come with "ten thousands of saints" (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV). That was the number of faithful who accompanied Prophet Muhammad to Paran (Mecca) in his victorious, bloodless return to his birthplace to destroy the remaining symbols of idolatry in the Ka'bah.

Says God as quoted by Moses:
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:19)

ebonics · Mar 28, 2008

ill paste this again just for the records sakes - which basically shows the muslim way of twisting things to satisfy their agenda...

What It Means To Be Prophet Like Unto Moses
There are five outstanding characteristics that have to be met. The Bible teaches that Moses is different than all the other Old Testament prophets. To be the prophet like Moses of Deuteronomy 18, these five characteristics have to be met. These requirements follow:

1. God spoke directly to Moses. All other prophets received their revelation by visions or dreams. Moses' revelation was directly from the mouth of God. "And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (Num. 12:6-8).

2. Moses was in the direct presence of God. He saw the similitude or form of the LORD. Moses glowed from being in direct presence of God's glory. "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him" (Exod. 34:29-30).

3. Moses brought in a blood covenant relationship with God. The other prophets built upon this covenant, but no other Old Testament prophet brought in a different covenant. "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness" (Exod. 24:8-10).

4. Moses did mighty signs and wonders. God used Moses to split the Red Sea. " And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left" (Exod. 14:21-22).

5. Moses prophesied of the future. Moses gave entire chapters of prophecy. His prophecy centered on the people and nation of Israel. "Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. ... And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD" (Lev. 26:42,44-45).

6. The prophet has to be a Jew. The Prophet like Moses will have to come from one of the tribes of Israel. The context of Deutromony 18 makes it clear that the brethren means someone from one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Deuteronomy 18:1,2,7,15 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel... 2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. 7 Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD. 15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

The Test of Muhammad as the Prophet Like unto Moses
Using the five criteria of Moses being a special prophet, let's test the Muslim's claim that Muhammad is the special prophet like Moses which the Koran claims.

1. God spoke directly with Moses. Muhammad fails because the Koran shows he received his message from an angel. "Then I swear by the angels who bring down the revelation" (Sura 77:5). "Say: Whoever is the enemy of Jibreel- for surely he revealed it to your heart by Allah's command, verifying that which is before it and guidance and good news for the believers" (Sura 2:97).

2. The Koran never reported that Muhammad was literally in the direct presence of God.

3. Muhammad never brought in a blood covenant with God, but his message went directly against the revealed word of God. Muhammad denied the basis for the New Testament covenant which is the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. "And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa (Jesus) son of Marium, the apostle of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so" (Sura 4:157).

4. The Koran reports no signs and wonders of Muhammad.

5. Muhammad made no prophecies in the Koran. The Muslims call Sura 30 the Great Prophecy: This Sura is often used as proof Muhammad was a prophet. "The Romans are vanquished, In a near land, and they, after being vanquished, shall overcome, Within a few years. Allah's is the command before and after; and on that day the believers shall rejoice" (Sura 30:2-4). Sura 30 is not a valid prophecy: The Romans, who were the Byzantines, were always at war. A near land is not identified. The location to judge the near land is not identified in the Koran. Is it Jerusalem, Mecca, or Medina etc.? What is a few years? No date is give for this prophecy so within a few years can be identified. The fulfillment is not recorded in the Koran. It is impossible to verify that Sura 30:2-4 is a valid prophecy.

6. Muhammad was not a Jew. This just by itself eliminates Muhammad from being the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:18.

Muhammad fails the test of prophet in general and specifically he is not the prophet like unto Moses. Therefore his message as written in the Koran is to be totally rejected. He cannot be classified as a prophet because he made no prophecy which could be tested.

The Muslim's claim that Muhammad is the seal of the prophets has no authority as there is no proof in the Koran that Muhammad was a true prophet of God.

The Lord Jesus Meets the Criteria To Be the Prophet Like Unto Moses.
The Bible says that the Lord Jesus is the Prophet like unto Moses. "And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: . . . For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people (Acts 3:20,22-23).

1. God spoke directly to Moses. God spoke directly through the Lord Jesus. "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10).

2. Moses was in the direct presence of God and glowed from God's presence. Jesus was the direct presence of God, and He manifested the glory of God! "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light" (Matt. 17:1-2).

3. Moses brought in a blood covenant relationship with God. The Lord Jesus brought in a better blood covenant with God. The better covenant gives the assurance of eternal life to all that believe. "For this is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28). "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises" (Heb. 8:6).

4. Moses did mighty signs and wonders. Jesus did mighty signs and wonders. The Lord Jesus raised a man from the dead after he was four days in the grave. The Bible reported only a few of the awesome miracles that the Lord Jesus did. These miracles were a sign of Him being the Son of God. "Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. ... And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go" (John 11:39,43-44).

5. Moses prophesied of the future, as did Jesus. Like Moses, the Lord Jesus focused His prophecy on the Jews and their dispersion and restoration. The restoration of Israel and Jerusalem would occur just before His second coming. Just as the Lord prophesied, exactly happened to the Jews. Israel is once again a nation with Jerusalem as its capital. "And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? . . . But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land [Israel], and wrath upon this people [Jews]. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:7,23-24).

6. Moses was a Jew and the Lord Jesus was a Jew. Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

The Lord Jesus qualifies to be the Prophet because He is the Son of David from the tribe of Judah. The Lord Jesus not only met the requirements of being the Prophet like unto Moses, but he exceeded them in all points.

Moses was the servant of God, but the Lord Jesus was the Son of God; therefore, He was greater than Moses. "[Christ] Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. . . . And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house ..." (Heb. 3:2-3,5-6).

The Bible shows that the Lord Jesus is greater than Moses as He is the Son of God. God sent His Son into the world to die for our sin. Because of the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross, you can be forgiven of all sin and have assurance of eternal life with God. When you trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God makes an eternal blood covenant with you. Please repent of sin and trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior.

Eternal life is only through faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He is the Prophet like unto Moses and those that do not listen to His message, God will require it of them.

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:9-12).

shafique · Mar 28, 2008

Thanks ebonics - it is good to see both sides of the argument.

Cheers,
Shafique

shafique · Mar 28, 2008

It is also interesting to ponder over the Biblical prophecy that God will make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation.

All historians agree that this was only fulfilled when the Arabs unified under Islam - before then (and arguably after the decline of the Arabic Islamic empire), the descendants of Ishmael (the Arabs) were never a great nation.

God made the promise, and it was fulfilled by Muhammad, pbuh.

Now the question then becomes - did God fulfil a prophecy by allowing a false prophet's message to flourish?

I personally would have to say it does not make logical sense - but I'd be interested in a Christian's viewpoint.

Cheers,
Shafique

packsaddle · Mar 28, 2008

God allows evil to flourish in many forms.

Blessings.

shafique · Mar 28, 2008

packsaddle wrote:God allows evil to flourish in many forms.
Blessings.

Can I ask if you are a Jewish person who rejects Jesus, as this is an argument that is used to reject Jesus.

Cheers,
Shafique

ebonics · Mar 28, 2008

jews dont consider jesus or christians evil.

as such i dont see the point in your comparison?

shafique · Mar 28, 2008

ebonics wrote:jews dont consider jesus or christians evil.

as such i dont see the point in your comparison?

They consider false prophets as evil, and by extension the religion. They reject Jesus because they say he did not fulfil the prophecies contained in their scripture.

http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askr ... ssiah3.htm
http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askr ... _jesus.htm

The Jews certainly considered Christianity evil when they were being persecuted by Christians in Europe and forcibly converted in Spain etc.

So, I'm not sure whether the poster above was referring to Jesus the 'false Messiah' or not.

Cheers,
Shafique

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